The Fountainhead

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Summary: Led me to Atlas Shrugged Need I say more GREAT BOOK
Review: Ayn Rand is beautiful.

Thank you Ayn

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Summary: Fascinating, but left me feeling I missed something
Review: I loved this book yet I felt I did not fully understand the message she was trying to convey. Beautifully written and very entertaining, I read this many years ago and I only read around bedtime so I may have missed some of her point by being young and/or not fully concentrating in some parts. Without the benefit of a professor or Teaching assistant to discuss this book with I somehow felt dumb for not completely getting it. But still I would highly recommend it.

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Summary: The Fountainhead, A review
Review: The fountainhead. Simply put, this is a book obviously about the self exhaltation of mankind and the very nature of happiness in its whole. This book brought out all I had all ready known about myself and mankind that I had not the words or the ability to articulate. To put it bluntly, it said what I felt. This book was written in a very, enthralling manner that helped to drive home the well thought out and methodic plotline. The author drew you in from the first comment with her striking picture of a man nake at a cliff-edge, then drove you deeper as she gives this man character and breathes life into him. You begin to wonder what makes him tick, and, throughout the book, she explains slowly, and with great care, Howard Roark, Architect. This book,has been a guiding in my life. I have takent he lessons learned about how you can never achieve happiness through the eyes of others and that true success lies not in the merits your achievements get, but in the achiements themselves. I hope that everyone can get something from this great piece of literature and that it isn't just another book droned over by ellitist second-hander's.

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Summary: Howard Roark laughed...
Review: So began my journey with a most memoriable character: Howard Roark.

My father gave "The Fountainhead" to me after I announced that I would be reading "Atlas Shrugged" in the near future. Quickly my father responded that I needed to read "The Fountainhead" first. Rightly so as it turns out.

If you are struggling with people telling you it is your duty to serve others, read this book. Ayn Rand makes me proud to be an individual with individual talents that are mine alone.

Take pride in your work and in the meantime read "The Fountainhead."

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Summary: WORDS HYPNOTIZE
Review: Ayn Rand was a phenomenal salesperson. If you had a dollar in your pocket, this woman could convince you it was really hers, and make you feel guilty for stealing from her poor orphan mouth. She employs the magic of literature -- by which the reader identifies with the hero and trustingly enters the author's make-believe universe -- to manipulate, confuse, and recondition her unsuspecting victims. You will walk away from this book a bloodthirsty, heartless vampire -- and think that the world, not you, is warped.

The title comes from a line in the book that "man's ego is the fountainhead of human progress." Rand's agenda is to convince you that man, not God, is responsible for human greatness. Furthermore, she stresses that any authority which does not recognize the supremacy of the individual's ego is an evil tyrrany (God being the unidentified exemplar of this dictatorial regime).

Howard Roark is an architect. He likes to build really tall towers. The Man has it in for him, wants to oppress his revolutionary genius and prevent him from becoming rich and happy. So Roark thumbs his nose at the System, and blazes his own trail...

This is the Satanic Bible that Anton LaVey only wishes he could write. I know that sounds crazy but when you find yourself knifing your friends "for their own good," you'll know what I mean.

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Summary: The Second Best Book I Ever Read.
Review: The best book i ever read was Atlas Shrugged. I think that alot of people misunderstand the fountainhead. People seem to get hung up on the fact that Rand's characters don't seem to be human or the idea of selfishness being a better virtue than selflessness. Rand has never claimed that her characters were ment to be acurate representations of people. They were meant to show her ideal man, they are to be ideals to look up to. Her ideas about selfishness deal with a meaning much broader than the common definition especially in connection with greed. I believe the reason she makes all of the characters who would be called selfish the heros is because to her selfishness goes with integrity, not sacrificing yourself to the justifications of other people. Her characters are people unto themselves who do not feel that they owe anything to any one and that no one owes anything to them.

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Summary: Why was it called "The Foutainhead" anyway.
Review: I've read so many reviews for this book it makes me sick. Some say its the worst book ever written while others acclaim its genius. I would agree that Dominique's character could be seen as a little bit demeaning, and Roark is a selfish (selfish is probably not the right word because Roark never wanted money or power, he just wanted to work - his way) jerk. But I think what Ayn Rand is trying to say is that we need people like Roark to help the human race evolve. And it's people like Toohey who hold us back not for humanitarian reasons but for power.

This book blew me away and made me take a step back and accept what Ms. Rand's point was, not necessarily agreeing with everything she says but at least accepting it and respecting it. Also, she talks about Altruism and how (she)Roark thinks that it is holding society back, but that it's okay to give and be equal because we've been bread to do so, but there are going to be people out there who would rather give in another way, by inventions and ideas. Roark was very clear from the beginning that he works for himself only, and his work is a gift to society.

I loved Toohey's rants too. Hearing the evil badguy preach what we've all been taught since the beginning like: "make man feel small and insignificant", "make man associate pleasure with guilt" and we all know and believe that. The only thing I didn't like about him was that everything always went how he planned--he was too smart and manipulative to be human.

Love it or hate it - You should read it. You might learn something about yourself and other people. Her (Rand)ideas will never be outdated and in that way she'll live forever.

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Summary: The BEST
Review: Being a young man (17) I think I have the bennifet of taking a more naive view of this book. It is, to put it simply, the best book Ive ever read, and I have a wide range of classic literature on my shelf. Many single "star", critical reviews of this book seem to dwell on Rand's philosophy, not the book itself. I dont understand why I have had to read peoples rants about her personal life or Objectivism. That is not the point. I'll admit her philosopy and personal beliefs are being sold within the books covers, (quite well, might I add, even thought I disagree with them) but once you can get past that you will realize what a great piece of fiction this is. Another complaint is how unbelieveable the story and its characters are. Rand over does it this way to emphasise her Objectivism beliefs. Sort of like a characature, substatuting the person for an ideal. It's a bit over done at times, but, in my opinion, never really got in the way of the story. The length was yet another issue. I found it perfect. 600 would have been too short and 800 a little too long. I was actually a little sad when I finished. I had become so accoustomed to Roarks character it was like losing a friend when I was done. This proves Rand as a writer as far as Im concerned. Her characters, although sometimes utterly unlikable, are always interresting. She creates an entire world, then draws you in completely. I enjoyed the book immensly and could care less about her political ideas or her personal life. She gave me this amazing book that, for the duration I was reading it, made me smile, sneer, cringe, gag and feel passionatly about something. And isn't that what reading is supposed to be all about: Enjoyment?

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Summary: Leave your current life with a book
Review: Amazing, how a book written so long ago can be written about some people today. It is as if some people on one side of the political spectrum seem to follow the book. Besides philosphy, this is good reading for a story in itself. Long book, and the characters become a part of your life.

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Summary: Intriguing philosophy, shallow characters
Review: I first read this novel about 30 years ago, when I was, of all things, an architecture student. I was fascinated. As time passed, the details of the novel receded from my memory, but I had occassion to learn more about objectivism. I don't believe in it mayself, but I do understand it and respect it as a vital contribution to our intellectual history and an importamnt expression of principles underlying one school of thought inour ongoing political/economic debates.
Recently, I found myself bumping into Ms. Rand's ideals, through TV specials, etc. I decided it would be a good time to refresh my understainding of The Fountainhead. Ouch. I guess I was a bit naive when I read it the first time. Coming back to it now, after years of adult life experience (and exposure to a lot more literature), I found the characters hopelesly one dimensional; not evil, as some critics claim. Just horrendously shallow. And it's a shame becasue Ms. Rand fully understands the setting of the novel; the issues that reeally did polarize architecture back at that time. But her characters come of like .... pod people is the only phrase that keeps coming to mind.